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Jerry George: The Boulder County commissioners' creative accounting

Posted:
08/13/2017 10:20:20 PM MDT

On the 1993 ballot, Gunbarrel residents voted on a $1.9 million open-space tax for acquiring open space in the Gunbarrel Public Improvement District (GPID). On that same ballot, the Boulder County commissioners promised Gunbarrel citizens that if they approved the tax, the county would match those funds.

Gunbarrel voters passed the measure, and over 11 years, they taxed themselves $1.9 million through property taxes to purchase open space. This money and contributing funds from the county has been used to purchase six parcels so far. The county, however, still owes Gunbarrel $594,366 for open-space purchases — funds that could be applied toward preserving the Twin Lakes wildlife corridor and grassland habitat.

But now the county is claiming that they only promised to match up to $1.9 million and don't have to match the full amount. This interpretation would lead to an absurd conclusion: It would mean the county could contribute only $1, or even $0, if they chose, since both amounts are less than $1.9 million.

Refusing to honor their monetary commitment is both unethical and unlawful. But maybe, like alternative facts, this is alternative financing.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story